Fatal industrial incident; Men jailed and companies fined

Three men have been jailed following the death of a man at a warehouse in Harlow.

Nikolai Valkov, 63, of Warwick Road, Edmonton in North London suffered serious injuries after falling through the roof of a warehouse he was working on at Ozdil House, River Way, Harlow on April 13, 2015.

He was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he sadly died.

Ozdil Investments Ltd, which owned the building, and its directors, Firat and Ozgur Ozdil, were charged over the incident.

Koseoglu Metal works, which was employed as a contractor, and its director, Kadir Kose, were also charged.

At a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on September 27, 2016, Koseoglu Metal Works pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and a failure of duty of care under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Kose, 52, of Cavendish Street, London, also pleaded guilty to a failure to discharge their duty under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

On Thursday, February 2, following a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, a jury found Ozdil Investments guilty of corporate manslaughter and having committed a gross breach of its duty of care to Mr Valkov under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Its directors, Firat Ozdil, 42, of Bowood Road, Enfield and Ozgur Ozdil, 33, of Cherrydown Avenue, London, were also found guilty of a failure of duty under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Firat Ozdil has been jailed for 12 months, Ozgur Ozdil has been sentenced to 10 months and Kadir Kose has been given eight months in prison. All three have been disqualified from holding the position of a company director for 10 years.

Ozdil Investments Ltd has been fined £500,000 for corporate manslaughter and ordered to pay in full, court costs of £53,115.32. The company was also fined £160,000 under Section 3 of the Health and Safety At Work Act.

Koseoglu Metal Works has been fined £300,000 for corporate manslaughter and ordered to pay in full, court costs of £21,231.76. It was fined £100,000 under Section 3 of the Health and Safety At Work Act.

“His death was completely preventable and has caused an immeasurable sense of sadness and loss to his family.

“The Ozdils and Kose showed a total disregard for their responsibilities to ensure the safety of workers on the site.

“These men now face a significant amount of time in prison to reflect on their actions – or lack of them – and I pleased they will not be able to put anyone else’s safety at risk.

“I hope their sentences will bring some solace to Nikolai’s family. It won’t bring him back though, and that is something his loved ones have to deal with every day.”

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector David King said: “It is essential both clients and contractors comply with their duties under relevant regulations when planning and undertaking construction work.

“As in this case, the failure of clients and principal contractors to comply with these legal duties can have tragic consequences.

“Clients must ensure contractors have the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience for the task, and must make suitable arrangements for managing a project.

“In addition to the latter contractors must also take into account the general principles to eliminate, so far as is reasonably practicable, foreseeable risks to the health or safety of those affected by the work.”